111-Day New York Jets Warning – Underrated Jeremy Kerley

Here at Turn On The Jets, we decided to take a page out of Robert Mays book over at Grantland (a polite way of saying rip his article idea off) by counting down the 115 days until the New York Jets kick off, with a daily reason to get excited about their return. Mays has the whole NFL to work with, we only have the Goddamn Jets…now there is a challenge, step your game up Mays!

Despite the festering sewage hole that was the New York Jets offense in 2012, wide receiver Jeremy Kerley managed to have an impressive season. 56 receptions for 827 yards and 2 touchdowns may not turn heads at first glance but to have those numbers with the worst quarterback situation in the NFL, no supporting wide receivers or tight ends and a mediocre running game? Those numbers speak to how talented Kerley is and how he should never, ever be clumsily clumped together with the Jets wide receiver mess last season. 14.8 yards per catch and four games over 85 yards receiving on the 2012 Jets offense deserves a medal of some type.

We’ve already discussed in-depth how Kerley is more than a slot receiver. People seem to have the perception that the Jets need to start Santonio Holmes at flanker and Stephen Hill at split end because Hill is tall. In this assumption, Hill is a 50-60 snap per game guy and Kerley is relegated to the slot and only plays 20-30 snaps per game. This is insanity. Kerley is a substantially more polished and better all-around receiver than Hill at this moment. You want to see the size of Marty Morhinweg’s two starting receivers in Philadelphia compared to the size of what the two starting receivers on Jets should be this year?

Jeremy Maclin – 6’0, 198 pounds – DeSean Jackson – 5’10, 175 pounds

Santonio Holmes – 5’11, 192 pounds – Jeremy Kerley – 5’9, 188 pounds

There is no hesitation to play two “smaller” receivers together. The best players play. You don’t make Hill a “starter” over Kerley because he is taller. When the season begins, the only Jets wide receivers who merit more than 40 snaps per game are Holmes and Kerley.

Kerley will benefit from Mornhinweg’s offense, which will give him the opportunity to be a factor in the screen game and make plays after the catch. He is also the Jets best option working the seam, since they are so thin at tight end.

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NEW YORK DAILY NEWS STORY PITCH OF THE DAY – 1,500 words on the origins of Mark Sanchez’s headband. Manish Mehta managed to sit down an unnamed former teammate of Sanchez who was drafted in the 7th round by the team in 2011. The source insisted “the headband is a bro-move and totally chill.” However, Mehta and Gary Myers plan a follow up examining why the headband speaks to Sanchez’s mental weakness in the pocket and inability to handle the cold weather of North Jersey.

RANDOM JET TO REMEMBER OF THE DAY – CEDRIC HOUSTON! – CED! He was the Shonn Greene before the Shonn Greene, racking up 374 yards on 113 carries in 2006 for a whopping 3.3 yards per carry. He did have 5 touchdowns though.